Marks of True Revival
What are the marks of true gospel revival? What’s the difference between a temporary emotional experience and a true work of God Spirit? I would like to suggest four marks of true revival:
Genuine Repentance
From the very beginning of his public ministry, Jesus preached a gospel of repentance for the forgiveness of sins (Matthew 4:17). Repentance is at the very heart of the Christian message. As Martin Luther said in his first thesis in 1517, “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ‘Repent,’ he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.” Therefore, any true work of the Spirit should lead to mass repentance as people turn from trusting in themselves to trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ. This is exactly what we see in Old Testament examples of revival, such as the renewal under King Josiah in 2 Kings 22-23.
Love for Christ
Repentance alone is not a mark of true revival. If people simply see their sin and feel bad about it, they could end up in the same position as Judas Iscariot who committed suicide after betraying Jesus (Matthew 27:5). That’s why this mark of true repentance is so important. True gospel renewal and revival should always have Jesus Christ’s as the center, just as the apostle Paul chose to know nothing but “Jesus Christ and him crucified” in his preaching to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 2).
Interest in God’s Word
the next mark of true repentance is a sincere love for God’s Word. In church history, true gospel with dual and revival has always been accompanied by a renewal of biblical preaching. This is what happened in the ministry of John Hus in the 14th century and John Calvin in the 16th century. You see the same pattern in the First Great Awakening of the 18th century and the Second Great Awakening of the 19th century. People increasingly longed for faithful biblical preaching as the revival took hold. Therefore, if there are claims of revival without a corresponding longing for biblical preaching and teaching, then reports may be exaggerated.
Lasting Fruit
In Matthew 7:16-20, Jesus says that you can identify true and false teachers by their fruit. True teachers will “bear fruit in keeping with repentance” (Matthew 3:8). But we can say the same thing about revivals. True gospel renewal and revival will bear fruit in keeping with repentance. In other words, as time goes on, it will be clear that it wasn’t a mere emotional experience in the heat of the moment. Rather, there will be a change in the way people love one another in the church. There will be a change in the way people interact at work. There will be a change in the way families conduct themselves at home and abroad.
But in all, we should continue to pray for renewal and revival in our country and in Garnet Valley. It may seem impossible or too good to be true. But as we look at the history of God’s people, we should be optimistic, expecting renewal and revival as a work of God’s Spirit in his good timing.